Since the last time we caught up in The Journey #11, I have been on the move quite a bit. It seems so long ago that I was in Australia now, as I have been to 3 countries since then. All in a very short period of time! It has been interesting though, and today I will catch you up on what for me has been a whirlwind tour of Temples, Towers and Tuk Tuk Scams!
I can already hear you asking about the Tuk Tuk Scams, but that will have to wait till later in the story. Let’s just start at the beginning instead.
This article may contain affiliate links. If you click on those links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you I will get a small commission. This will go a long way toward keeping this website running. As always, thank you for your support! Click HERE for more information.
Bali, Indonesia – No Tuk Tuk Scams here!
When I left Australia, I headed directly back to Bali. It was great catching up with family, but it was definitely time to move on. I think it only took a week and I was already getting itchy feet!
So it was back to Bali. Things are getting easier for traveling out of Australia now, but there are still teething issues. For instance, to go to Bali I first had to get a PCR, which meant a special trip to the International Airport in Brisbane to get it 24 hours before my flight. I didn’t fly till the next day, and I was flying out of the Domestic Airport, down to Sydney, transferring to the International and off to Bali. A lot of running around, but that is the age we are living in right now.
Things actually went rather smooth the next day, with check in a breeze in Brisbane, and the Qantas transfer bus in Sydney quick and painless. Before I knew it, I was back in Bali!
I must say that I really did miss Bali. It has really become my new home, and I felt that as I walked out of the airport. Jo was not there, I would be meeting her in Kuala Lumpur in a weeks time. Until then, it was a quick rest, some work on my blog, and getting paperwork ready for a flying trip to elsewhere in South East Asia.
First stop, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I had only really ever known KL for two things. First, they have pretty cool looking twin towers, and second, it is a major hub for International travel. That, as sad as it is, was pretty much all I knew. But Jo was there doing some work, so we made a plan to meet up and get some travel under our belt while it was so cheap in the region.
To say that I was surprised by KL would be an understatement. It has now rocketed up my list of favorite cities, to probably the number #1 spot in front of Tokyo. I loved it!
Kuala Lumpur is clean, organized, and an absolute pleasure to visit. I enjoyed getting out every day and wandering the streets while Jo was at work. More often than not, (every day), I would end up in KLCC Park, eyeballing the Petronas Twin Towers and finding new and exciting things to do all the time. It only took me a day to get up the towers themselves, which was a great experience. You can read my article about that HERE.
The other tower in KL that is not as widely known, is KL Tower. I climbed it the same day that I did the Twin Towers, and I must say that I rate the views as even better from the KL Tower Sky Deck, than the Twin Towers. Once again, you can read about THAT climb in THIS article.
The way that KL is set out is incredibly easy to get around. We came away with so many awesome experiences, and favorite places to eat, because the food scene is pretty amazing too. We found this great little shawarma place at Bukit Bintang that we ate at 3 times!
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we had tickets to Bangkok. So after only a couple of days exploring together, we were on our way to the airport again.
Bangkok, Thailand, home of the Tuk Tuk Scams
Getting out of KL was a breeze. Leaving the International Airport, you actually do a SELF check in and bag drop, just like you do in a domestic airport. We got right through security and the first time anyone checked our passports was immigration! So weird on an international flight to not have anyone at the check in counter.
One note here. If you are ever flying out of KLIA2 airport, take food with you. On the gates side there is nothing but an instant coffee stand. That’s it!
Getting to the hotel in Bangkok was easy with a taxi, but finding the hotel wasn’t. The place we are staying is right on the riverfront, and things become a rabbit warren this close to the water. It’s a nice little hotel, but what makes it amazing is location.
Right next door, and I mean literally right outside the door, is the Wang Lang Markets. We only have to go 50 meters to find some amazing food every morning. Then, every evening we eat there too. Actually, we have pretty much become locals, I think.
The great thing about being on the river is ease of access to things. We can see the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun from our hotel balcony, and getting there is easy. We did them all in a day, and even though it was a hot and sweaty affair, was very rewarding.
Other than the Tuk Tuk Scams.
Well, I can’t complain much about the Tuk Tuk Scams, because I am happy to say that we didn’t get scammed. But it wasn’t from lack of trying on their behalf. Fortunately we (well, I), were forewarned, and were prepared to ignore it. We saw many others getting scammed though, and helped out where we could. Have a read HERE for my article about what to look out for and how to avoid it.
The Grand Palace was amazing! I had read that it should be a world wonder, and after visiting, I totally agree. It is hard to describe the amount of Gold and Inlaid glass that make up the buildings and Temples around the Palace. To make it even better, at the tail end of Covid we had it with minimal people, so we were very fortunate.
After the Palace, we headed around to Wat Pho. The Tuk Tuk Scams were still in full swing, but I think they recognized us from earlier in the day, so we didn’t get too hassled. Wat Pho is only just behind the Palace, and a pretty easy walk.
This temple was incredible, as I am beginning to believe all Thai Temples are. We spent a couple of hours wandering around, taking photos and videos. Once again, there were times that we had the entire area to ourselves. Until we found the giant reclining Buddha of course. You will NEVER get this to yourself! Of course, we DID see quite a few monks around, which for some reason we got a real thrill out of. I don’t know why…maybe just because seeing Monks is SO Thailand.
A quick trip across the river is Wat Arun. It is very different once again to Wat Pho, and not very large in area. it is very tall though, and has some wonderful views. The ferry takes you there in only a few minutes and stops right out front, so it is very easy to include in your visit to Wat Pho.
Since then, we have been quite a few other places in Bangkok. It soon became apparent to us that this is a city that you cant see all at once, so we stopped rushing and plan to come back for more on another visit. Today, we hit the floating markets, although like many things they are very lacking due to covid.
We only have another day here in Bangkok, which we will spend ferrying up and down the river on the “hop on, hop off” boat. Then, we are off to Chiang Mai, and perhaps Chiang Rai which I am really looking forward to!
So that’s it for now, and you are up to date on where we are and where we are going. I will see you all again in The Journey #13, probably from back here in Bangkok after our trip north!
Cheers,
J
Leave a reply